Media rights for China awarded: PP Sports and Bundesliga International conclude five-year cooperation
09.07.2018 – Bundesliga International has awarded the TV and online rights for the Bundesliga in China to PP Sports for the next five years, beginning from the 2018-19 season. The start of the cooperation was marked with a press conference today, Monday, at the German embassy in Beijing. In addition to Mr. Zeng Gang, Executive Vice-President of PP Sports, and Peter Leible, Head of Global Audiovisual Rights (AVR) at Bundesliga International, the press conference was attended by representatives of FC Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, FC Schalke 04, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg. Schalke defender Naldo and former China international and Bundesliga player Shao Jiayi, who is a member of the DFL’s “Bundesliga Legends Network”, were also in attendance.
The deal means that PP Sports will hold Bundesliga’s broadcasting and distribution rights in China for TV in cooperation with CCTV, and exclusively for internet, new media, OTT (over-the-top) services and other media channels.
“I am very pleased to reach a deep partnership with the Bundesliga. As one of the five major soccer leagues in Europe, the Bundesliga has a long history and is one of the highest attended football leagues in the world. At the same time, the Bundesliga also has a strong fan base in China,” Zeng said. “We will take full advantage of PP Sports’ video and content expertise and the offline advantages of our parent company Suning Commerce Group to push the development of Bundesliga in China to new heights.”
The popularity of German professional football in China is also illustrated by the fact that the “Red Card 2018” study recognized the Bundesliga as the leading European football league in Chinese digital media for the fourth year in succession.
“I am very pleased to reach a deep partnership with the Bundesliga. As one of the five major soccer leagues in Europe, the Bundesliga has a long history and is one of the highest attended football leagues in the world. At the same time, the Bundesliga also has a strong fan base in China,” Zeng said, “We will take full advantage of PP Sports’ video and content expertise and the offline advantages of our parent company Suning Commerce Group to push the development of Bundesliga in China to new heights”, said Robert Klein, CEO of Bundesliga International. “Various Bundesliga club tours to China in recent years have helped to bring the Bundesliga closer to its Chinese fans, and the level of interest is continuing to grow. We are pleased that we are able to partner with PP Sports that will not only further enhance our coverage by reaching and serving Bundesliga fans around the clock, which will also help to further grow the interest in football in China.”